Funerals are events to behold for your very own future, as, barring the possibility of an upcoming Singularity, we all get to depart from our lives, as have billions of people in the past…
Each funeral would be (or was) held in any of several ways: culturally, socially, regionally, etc, some with religiosity, some without. Funerals are a way to remember and respect someone that’s no longer with us, having left nothing but memories behind when they pass on: family, a friend or someone who’s well-known. Past funeral events reach back more than 100,000 years. see a historical view here.
Some are about the natural passage of life, others are simply sad: my son Alex passed away in 2002 and is today still frequently missed. A nephew, Chad Pagel, was taken in 2007 at a young age.
I’ve also sadly lost some good friends over the years. Gerry Kendzior, who had an unexpected heart attack; Mark Egidy, Rich Fillet and others, all taken in their younger years, as were some of the lads I served with in the 1970’s.
While I chose to not personally visit John McCain’s funeral in September of 2018, I agree that he was well-respected by the attendance of the civilized leadership in the US, avoided by others, much to my disgust. His death was from a GBM, a similar disease to my now >25-year-old brain tumor. Early years with this took me to a monthly support group, where more than a few that I met simply vanished, leaving sad thoughts.
I was able to be at my Gran’s funeral in 1999 but sadly missed my Grandad’s in 1971, as I wasn’t close enough to him for the Army to let me visit…
I also missed the funerals of my Mum’s parents, who each passed away long before my birth… I also have *very* few images of them; one is here.
